January 24, 2023 - To prepare for the snow event predicted for overnight and most of Wednesday, the City of Fort Wayne Street Department fleet is being checked and will be ready to begin snow removal when needed. Crews have been pretreating main arterial intersections with brine to reduce ice build-up. If possible, residents are encouraged to find off-street parking so trucks can blade as close to the curb as possible. 

“As always, our outstanding Street Department is monitoring the weather system and preparing to remove the snow that could make our roadways dangerous for travel,” said Mayor Tom Henry. “I urge motorists to use caution if they are unable to stay home tomorrow and be patient as our crews clear away the snow.”

The city is divided into eighteen snow routes with each route assigned a minimum of two trucks. Streets in each route are prioritized as one (arterials), two (collectors and Citilink bus routes), and three (residential). Priority one streets are the first streets to receive plowing and salting. Whenever the priority one streets are deemed safe for travel during or after a snowfall, the city's plow trucks begin operations on the priority two streets. After these streets are completed, trucks will move in to residential streets if there is an accumulation of three inches or more of snow. If during plowing operations on priority two or three streets it begins to snow again and priority one streets become slippery, trucks will be dispatched back to these streets as needed.

While no snow event is exactly the same, as a rule of thumb it usually takes 10-12 hours AFTER the snow stops falling to plow and salt priority one and two streets. Residential streets generally take 48 hours to plow, assuming the plow trucks can continue working on those areas and don’t have to move back to priority one or two streets.

The Street Department is responsible for 1,200 miles of streets and roads. More information about Street Department efforts can be found at www.cityoffortwayne.org/snow.